The "Dream Team" by Cathy Ace

Which author(s) (living or dead) would you like to meet one-on-one to talk about the writing craft? What is it about their writing or life that most interests you?

To be honest, even ten years ago I’d have had a list as long as my arm in answer to this question; since then, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to meet many authors whose work has given me great pleasure over the decades, and to listen to them giving interviews or speaking on panels – or even to have spent some personal time with them – wherein I know I’ve learned a great deal about the way they work, which has, in turn, given me much food for thought when considering how I work.

On my bookshelf

But there are authors whose work I admire a great deal with whom I have never, and can never, cross paths, so I’ll focus on them today.

I dare say for anyone who knows me, my first pick won’t come as a surprise: Agatha Christie’s work entertained then inspired me. I enjoyed her autobiography, as well as reading about the notebooks she kept, but to spend time with her…to ask about her plotting, and her use of language…that would be a treat indeed. Though I’ll admit I’m not sure how much I’d learn from her because I’d probably be too shy to ask what I really want to know, which is – how did she find it within herself to just keep going for so very many years?

Other people to have a quiet chat with? Ngaio Marsh? Yes please: to move from one culture to another, then dominated in her field, that would be a wonderful story to hear. Could I also, please, spend some time with PD James and Ruth Rendell too? And, yes, I know these are all women, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing, because I, too, am a woman working in this world of writing and publishing, and I bet they could help me plot my way forward to build a long and healthy career.

And there’s one more name to add to my list: MC Beaton. Unfortunately for me I never had the chance to meet her before she died, but I bet I could learn a great deal from her about – again – the passion for writing which burned in her that allowed her to keep writing for as long as she did. I often find my work, especially my WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, compared with her Agatha Raisin books. I have a wonderful opportunity, in Aberystwyth later this month, to meet RW Green who is the author with the responsibility of taking the Agatha Raisin books forward – so at least I can grill him then about the essence of Marion Chesney’s work that he’s alighted upon to ensure that the style and tone she created in her books is continued. I'm so chuffed to be appearing on a panel with him at Wales’s first in-person crime writers’ conference Gwyl Crime Cymru Festival. You can find out all about it here: https://gwylcrimecymrufestival.co.uk/

Also, you can find out more about my work at my website: https://www.cathyace.com/

Where (or WHEN) are they now? by Cathy Ace

Q: How do you handle the passage of time and the aging of characters in your series?

Oh, this is an interesting one... 

On my wall...

When I wrote THE CORPSE WITH THE SILVER TONGUE, the first Cait Morgan Mystery and my first novel, I set it to take place “now”.

To be precise, the “now” I set it in was 2012, which is when the book was published. That meant I calculated the birth years of my main and subsidiary characters to be the ages I wanted them to be in the book. I always do this, even if a character’s specific age isn’t mentioned, because – as part of my planning process – I like to/need to work out what that character’s childhood would have been like, based upon their place of origin and birth year. As an aside, this also helps me choose the right types of names for my characters, based upon popularity/fashion where and when they were born.

My second book was published a year later, and was set about a year later – so far, so good. No problems. But time began to slip by book 5, and by book 12 (due out in April 2022) well, let’s just say that Cait Morgan and Bud Anderson are now way out of whack with reality (ultimately, they’ve aged about three years over the past ten years)…but I still write the books set “now”.

Why? Well, I had to make a decision: whilst I hoped I’d still be writing about Cait and Bud ten years later, I sort of didn’t really believe I would be, so the question of ageing did occur to me, but I reckoned I could cross that bridge when I came to it. And having come to it, and having had to cross it...I find I don’t really mind that this slippage has occurred, because I know my readers have enough intelligence to cope, and I don’t believe (oh my, I really hope not!!!) that the early books have become anachronistic…so far.

However, mindful of the fact I know people are reading books written a hundred years ago for the first time (welcome to the fold, those discovering Agatha Christie in the 2020’s), and seeing the sales of that first novel of mine are increasing year on year, I know folks can cope really well with ages, ageing, and the shifting sands of time – and all they have to do is check the copyright date to see when each book was written if they question something in “that timeline”. I’ve never wanted to write books set in the past – I have always wanted to, and always shall, write books that are contemporary for their publication date, and I truly believe readers can cope with how that impacts the "age" of the recurring characters.

Has this caused any problems for readers? The only one I’ve spotted is that some readers have referred to how Cait and Bud still act as though they’re on honeymoon “after all these years”. Now, I’m aiming to portray a solid, loving partnership, where each person values and really does adore the other (whilst recognizing each has flaws)…so I do my best to “remind” readers in each book how long they’ve been married. For example: even by book 12 they’ve only been married for a little over two years, which – for Cait, who was in her late-forties when she became a bride for the only time in her life – IS, in fact, still the honeymoon period. (FYI: I married for the only time when I was 44, and our honeymoon period is…well, we’re still in it, as far as I’m concerned, and always will be – lots of lost years to make up for!) 

We met in January 1972, 50 years ago! This is us in 1975.
He proposed in 1976. We married in 2004.
It's a LONG story!!!
 (NB: arms in the air because we're performing on stage in this photo)

If/when I write another WISE Enquiries Agency Mystery I shall jump in right after the ending of the fourth book, however many years have passed in real time by then, and the next psychological suspense book I have planned featuring retired Detective Inspector Evan Glover and his wife Betty will pick up a few months after THE WRONG BOY, even though – again – years will have passed in real time.

I’ve learned to not refer to global occurrences in the "present" of the book, only in backstories (no pandemic being mentioned, anywhere, ever, for example) to allow readers to feel less pulled out of the story and into time-sensitive issues as they are reading, and I hope that helps as the years pass. Fingers crossed, folks will be discovering Cait and Bud in another ten years’ time, when the first book will be twenty years old…and hopefully those new readers won’t mind, as current readers don’t appear to, that the passage of time is treated as a flimsy construct, with which they don’t have to overly concern themselves. I just hope they’re happy to curl up with a puzzling closed-circle whodunnit, trying to sort the clues from the red herrings alongside my protagonists!

If you think now's the time to catch up with Cait and Bud - knowing there's a new book coming very shortly - you can find out all about them at my website: http://www.cathyace.com/ 

COVER REVEAL COMING FEBRUARY 7TH AT DRU ANN'S BOOK MUSINGS https://drusbookmusing.com/

AND VIA MY NEWSLETTER! 

Clue - Do by Cathy Ace

You’re organizing a writers retreat with some fellow authors. Friends, perhaps? Describe the plan, the setting, the food, the drinks, and the results. And, of course, who gets murdered…

Oh, what fun...I think. 

I'll admit I've never been on a writers' retreat...I'm not really a "retreat" sort of person, because, frankly, anything that takes me away from the company of my husband is something I consider very carefully, and I'm not convinced that trying to write anywhere but my known, home environment would go well for me.

Confession: the first advance I was ever paid (to write a marketing communications textbook, in 1994) was immediately spent on renting an apartment in Nice for three months, where I didn't even manage to finish the first chapter (too many distractions!). 

So...a retreat? Hmm...maybe not my thing.

That said - if "writers' retreat" is code for long weekend partying with people you want to spend time with, and then there's a murder mystery to solve, too...I'm your gal. Oh, and Husband will be coming along...just so we're clear about that up front.

Those who know me won't be surprised that my chosen venue would be a cruise ship...touring the Hawaiian Islands, please. This means the food and drink won't be my responsibility at all, as there's always anything and everything anyone could fancy available 24/7 on a ship, though I'd warn them to make sure the champagne list was comprehensive, and well stocked...because, well...champagne! 

Now then  -who shall I invite? Ack...there are so many people I would want to be there...but what if I leave someone out? This could be a nightmare, so I'm going to neatly sidestep that issue by only inviting...dead people!

First up - Agatha Christie, of course. Not only could she give us all surfing lessons (yes, she used to surf) but we could have fascinating chats about her time in Jordan and Egypt; I've visited the house she shared with her husband in the Jordanian wonder that is Petra, and have also been into the suite she stayed in at The Cataract Hotel in Aswan, Egypt. 

Next - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, because I would want to talk to him about his fascination with spiritualism, and learn more about how he plotted his Holmes works. I'd also love to ask him how he feels about all the works that now exists based upon his characters...I have a feeling his answers would be interesting.

Also - William Shakespeare. Probably not a surprise, and wouldn't it be wonderful for all the other guests to be able to quiz him about the way he used language? I think everyone there would be grateful to have the chance to thank him for his work - and I have a feeling he'd be amazed to discover the impact he's had not just upon the field of drama, around the world - but on the English language we use today. Also - he's a bit of a whizz when it comes to anything involving buckets of blood - so handy to have around if the ship ends up littered with corpses.

If I could persuade him, I'd risk inviting Georges Simenon. I realize we might not see much of him, because he'd probably be off  bonking anything that would let him, but I feel I could learn a great deal from him about the writing process, given half a chance.

If prising Simenon off any willing female takes some of our time, we might also have to spend a bit more dragging Dylan Thomas away from the bar - though maybe that's where we'd all be in any case  because whatever ship you're on, the best bar (in my experience) is always outside, on the top deck, at the stern - you get fresh air, drinks, and the wonderful wake to enjoy! (Bonus points for everyone having to give up caring what their hair looks like, because of the wind.) NB: I know Thomas isn't very murdery, but that's okay too.

To balance the male count here, I'm also going to invite Ruth Rendell and PD James, because - well, come on.. two fascinating women, who wrote genre-defining books, and both knew their way around the halls of power, the media, and publishing - lots of discussions to be had there. 

And, to round out this group - though I am desperately sorry either of them are available - I'm inviting Sue Grafton and MC Beaton. Two unforgettable women who created two unforgettable women - Kinsey Millhone and Agatha Raisin, respectively. When it comes to knowing how to give a protagonist longevity, they have a massive amount of experience between them.

This gives me five women, and four men - all of whom, bar one, are British! Gobsmacked? No, me neither. But that's not fair - so I gave Husband one pick, too, using my rules, and he opted for Robert B. Parker, who would be a fabulous addition to the group because...well, you know...loads of books, successful series across sub-genres, and Westerns too (all of which Husband likes). 

Since they're all dead, none of them can be murdered...there'll be no distractions, and we can all have a good old knees-up, BUT...I would make sure the cinema showed the movies "CLUE" and "MURDER BY DEATH" so we could all have a good laugh (and I'd also give all my guests the opportunity to watch any and all screen versions of their work they fancied - so we could all talk about that, too!) 

Sounds like my sort of party...for days.  

Wanna come??? 

 And maybe bring a book??

BSP: On Sunday Dru Ann Love will be revealing the cover of my 11th Cait Morgan Mystery, THE CORPSE WITH THE GRANITE HEART. Don't miss out! Sign up for my newsletter here, and get a private preview! http://www.cathyace.com/

Existential angst? by Cathy Ace

Q: Publishers and agents usually ask you to compare your book to somebody else’s and want to know that you are up to date on what is popular at the moment. How much importance do you place in writing for the market?

Okay – three questions here, really – who am I “like”, and what’s popular – two very different questions, with a third, overarching query…

What other author’s works are my books “similar to”? I admit it, I’m HOPELESS at this game! Yes, yes, I know every author believes their work is utterly unique (and it is) but I also understand (because I’m a reader as well as a writer) that it’s helpful to be able to tell someone “if you enjoy ‘that’ then you’ll probably enjoy ‘this’ too”, so I try my best to be helpful (that’s the kind of gal I am!) when called upon to be so.

But…and it’s a big but…I also know as a reader that what appeals to me isn’t necessarily what a book's about, or where it’s set, or even what type of sub-genre it is (procedural, sleuth, spies, thriller etc.) but the VOICE that appeals to me. If I listed my favorite authors here – authors whose works I will read whatever sub-genre they’re writing in (and several of my most favorite authors write across different sub-genres) – you might be perplexed, because they seemingly have nothing in common with each other, except that I enjoy those voices. Indeed, I’m one of those for whom the “helpful” amazon “People who bought this also bought…” section is worse than useless: 100% of those books listed have never ended up in my little cart. Ever.

"As" Agatha Christie

Thus, I’ve relied upon others to help me in this task when I need to undertake it myself. Professional reviewers, as well as non-professional reviewers, and readers, have proposed the following: my Cait Morgan Mysteries will appeal to those who enjoy books by Agatha Christie (Poirot fans), Lyn Hamilton, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ngaio Marsh, Sue Grafton, and any number of “Golden Age” British traditional mystery authors; my WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries will appeal to those who enjoy books by M.C. Beaton, Alexander McCall Smith, Jeanne M. Dams, and Agatha Christie (Marple fans); my book The Wrong Boy will appeal to those who enjoy TV suspense like Broadchurch, Hinterland, and Shetland (based on the books by Ann Cleeves), or books by Gillian Flynn. I’m not going to argue – but will add that – despite the fact I write traditional puzzle-plot mysteries (Cait Morgan), cozier, character-driven tales (WISE women) and psychological suspense (DI Evan Glover) I am thrilled to say many readers enjoy them all when they try them – venturing beyond their initial “reason-for-buying” to discover a new-to-them sub-genre…YAY!

Now, onto the second part of the question – do I know what’s “popular” at the moment? Well, yes, I do, thanks, but that doesn’t mean it’s what I want to/am able to write. Besides, what’s “popular” today (ie. topping the sales charts) might not be what folks want to read by the time my book is published, so I think chasing the ghost of popularity is a fool’s errand…

All of which, I suspect, allows you to work out for yourself that my answer to the final part of this week’s overarching question – do I write for the market? – is, in all honesty, no. I write books I like to read, and hope my “voice” reaches people who enjoy it, across the board. All I can do is keep doing what I’m doing, and hope enough of the market likes what I write that I can afford to keep doing it!  

By the way...you can help with that last bit *wink, wink* - all my books are listed on my website: CATHY ACE CRIME WRITER

Cover ART! by Cathy Ace

Business: What makes a great book cover? Is it the title or the graphics? Do you have favorites that you think work?

I honestly think the title, the subject/type of book, the artwork and the typography have to work as one to do the best job possible. But this – as you know – is my confessional, so I am taking today as my chance to sing the praises of my favourite cover artist of all time – Tom Adams. And I'll be honest - for me, the typography is "in its place" on the covers he created, as opposed to being a part of the artwork as such - and I know there are many, many wonderful covers out there...but I just want to share his work with you all!

L to R: David Curran, Jake Kerridge, Tom Adams.

His artwork is renowned and will be on my bookshelves forever, because he illustrated the Agatha Christie covers for over 20 years, and created the covers I read when I came to know her work. I was fortunate enough to meet him at CrimeFest in 2017 – and am the proud owner of a signed copy of the book commissioned to celebrate his work. It’s hard to believe – as you look at the detail in the work below – that he’s an illustrator, not a photographer. 

His hyper-realistic technique, matched with his surreal approach appealed to me then, and now. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 

 To see more of his work, here's his website: http://www.tomadamsuncovered.co.uk/

I'd be honoured if you'd consider reading my work:  http://www.cathyace.com/

BLATANT SELF PROMOTION! This is the cover of my new book - which is launched TODAY

YES...MY NEW BOOK IS RELEASED TODAY!!!! 

Please check it out  and please consider ordering it through your local library, or your local bookstore, or via an online retailer? 

It's available as a hardcover, trade paperback or an e-book.

To read some lovely blurbs from fellow 7 Criminal Minds bloggers CLICK HERE

 

Calling all creative types... by Cathy Ace

Reading - We live in a world of TVs at the gas station, split screens, crawl lines, sound notifications, personal message alerts and a thousand other pipes feeding information direct to our over-stimulated brains. What's the place of books in all of that clamour? Do you worry about the future of reading?

This is an interesting question, because I get the chance to answer it as both a reader, and an author. 

First of all, as a reader I know that books play an important and unique role in my life – yes, I enjoy watching TV, movies, and following the news etc, but books? They take me to a different place than anything I can watch on a screen, or listen to as I drive. They transport me to the worlds the author has sketched, which I then complete for myself. 

For me, that’s the main difference between books and any other form of entertainment – I get to participate…I am part of the creative process as I read. Yes, I know that listening to a play on the radio (which I often do, thanks to BBC Radio 4, a radio station I still listen to avidly, despite the fact I no longer live in the UK) means I am still using my imagination to complete the experience, but the voices of the actors mean I have more input into their character than simply the words on the page and my involvement…something also true of listening to books, vs reading them. Not bad, but different.

I also very much enjoy watching TV and movie versions of works by authors I love to read. Again - a different experience entirely. 

 

Bearing this is mind, I have to assume that other readers become equally involved in bringing my work to life for themselves – so I believe each reader’s experience of my written work will differ slightly. And THAT’S what breaks through the clamour…the fact that readers choose to focus on my words and my characters and my worlds for themselves…not allowing other distractions to intervene. 

It’s also why I don’t worry about the future of reading; I believe every thinking person will always want to read, as opposed to enjoying other forms of entertainment. And I don’t believe that human beings will cease to want to think for themselves, nor stop enjoying being part of the creative process – by reading.

I'd be honoured if you'd consider reading my work - you can find out about it, and me, here: cathyace.com

 

Deeper and Deeper

Paul here:

This week I’m thrilled to have Dennis Palumbo guest blog here. Dennis is a screenwriter (My Favorite Year, Welcome Back Kotter, and more), psychotherapist and the author of the Daniel Rinaldi series. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand and elsewhere, and is collected in From Crime to Crime (Tallfellow Press).

Dr. Daniel Rinaldi is a psychologist and trauma expert, who consults with the Pittsburgh Police Department and specializes in treating the victims of violent crime. And that’s something he knows about personally: Rinaldi’s wife was murdered in a mugging and he was shot. He struggles with survivor’s guilt. Now he’s on a mission to help others deal with their traumas, while at the same time getting involved in cases and helping to solve the crimes.

Head Wounds is the fifth Rinaldi story, preceded by Mirror Image, Fever Dream, Night Terrors, Phantom Limb. For more info, visit www.dennispalumbo.com .

Take it away, Dennis.

***

This week’s question: What difference do you notice between the prose in crime novels that were written twenty years ago and current ones? Do you think the writing has gotten better? Are the subjects different?

by Dennis Palumbo

The question is a tricky one, because no one regards the prose of such authors as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Patricia Highsmith, Ruth Rendell or Ross Macdonald more highly than I do. These brilliant stylists could craft starkly beautiful sentences while still retaining both the suspense and the mystery that their novels promise.

That said, there’s little question in my mind that, in general, today’s crime fiction has broadened in its subject matter and deepened in its exploration of those areas. As good as the above-mentioned authors were, both their own prejudices and the social or moral constraints of their respective eras prevented them from addressing (except in the most covert way) issues of sexual orientation, racism and child abuse.

Twenty years ago, most readers expected little more than action, suspense and a cluster of red herrings in their mystery stories. It was also fairly customary to treat characters who strayed outside conventional norms (in terms of gender, race, moral dictates, substance use, etc.) in somewhat stereotypic fashion. They were still presented, even if occasionally with sympathy, as the “other.”

Moreover, the point of most crime fiction of decades past, even at the hands of such famous masters of the form, was to solve the mystery and reveal the killer. The whodunit still reigned supreme.

But times change, and so has crime fiction. From Richard Price to Gillian Flynn to Megan Abbott, the themes---and even the very goals---of these novels have expanded. Today’s crime fiction addresses and explores a much wider and more inclusive variety of characters and situations, from sexual identity to immigration to child abuse. These issues are now frequently tackled head on, and with a more empathetic and knowledgeable approach. Such “outlier” issues---and characters---are no longer the exception to the norm; they are the norm.

As a therapist, I can’t help but think that some of these narrative shifts in tone, theme and characterization are due to a more mature understanding on the readers’ part of the complexity of the human condition. Moreover, as psychological terms and disorders are more commonly (though often erroneously) talked about, readers expect today’s authors to have a more frank, thoughtful view of life today.

(I could make the argument, for example, that Gone Girl is as much a sly, snarky commentary of the state of contemporary marriage as it is a crime novel. It was as if Phillip Roth or John Cheever had turned their talents to psychological suspense.)

In my own novels, featuring psychologist and trauma expert Daniel Rinaldi, the narrative itself is usually informed by the emotional issues (often birthed by the trauma of violence, abuse, etc.) of the characters. As a consultant to the Pittsburgh Police, and in his role treating victims of violent crime, my protagonist’s clinical acumen can help shed some light on what might be going on. (Except those times when he’s wrong.)

The point is, I believe my readers expect that the psychological underpinnings of character, motive and general plot conform to what most of us understand as how real humans behave in the real world. 

Maybe, twenty or thirty years ago, most readers didn’t expect a crime novel to take such a deep dive into character, nor expect the narrative context to reflect so accurately the current state of affairs, either personally or politically. But nowadays, crafting a mystery (even a cozy) without at least a glancing nod at the realities of contemporary life seems antiquated, almost deliberately opaque.

I’m reminded of a comment made about the work of P.G. Wodehouse: as wonderful as he was, he wrote as though neither Freud nor Marx had ever existed.

I think the same sentiment holds true for today’s authors. We live in a rapidly-changing, media-drenched world whose mores and behavioral expectations are in turmoil; a time of global pandemics, terrorism, economic inequality, gender fluidity, sexual predation, and other social and political concerns. For crime fiction to stay relevant, I believe it has to, at least tangentially, acknowledge these issues.

Which, I’m happy to report, it appears to be doing. The best of today’s mystery fiction authors, from Dennis Lehane to Tana French, Scott Turow to Denise Mina, George Pelicanos to Louise Penny, deliver prose that is both beautifully crafted and cannily relevant to the times.

Of course, there will always be readers who enjoy the simple pleasures of earlier mystery fiction, whether the comfortable world of Agatha Christie or that of tough-guy Mickey Spillane.

But, if today’s best-seller lists are anything to go by, crime fiction is continuing to evolve and change, as is the society it inevitably mirrors.

Besides, as the author John Fowles soberly reminds us, “All pasts are like poems; you can derive a thousand things, but you can’t live in them.”

***

Thanks, Dennis. And be sure to check out Dennis’s books and find out more about him, and them, at his website (above).

~.~.~

And now for the usual BSP:

Broken Windows releases on September 10th and is available for pre-order now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Down & Out Books.

Please join me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/paul.d.marks and check out my website www.PaulDMarks.com

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I Got My Ticket for the Long Way Round

Do you think a regular writing hiatus would be good for you? (no writing/reading/reviewing/marketing etc.) How long would you like to take and what would you do during it?)

by Paul D. Marks

Before I get to the question at hand, I was researching some things the other day and came across a list of the “Top 50 Crime Novel Blogs For Crime Readers & Authors” at Feedspot. So out of curiosity I had to check and see if we were on there. And we are. At #22. The last update is May 30, 2018, so this is a pretty current list. Not sure how they chose these blogs, but Congratulations fellow Criminal Minds and thank you to Feedspot.

***

And now to today’s question:

I don’t know if a writing hiatus would be good for me, but I’m not sure it’s something I could do even if I wanted to. Though it might be good for my marriage, because writing is like having a mistress, who takes up a lot of your time and energy.

Clearly we all take breaks from writing. But no writing? No reading? What kind of torture is this? But okay, maybe no reviewing or marketing. So, what are supposed to do? For example, if we travel, I don’t know about you, but I know whenever I travel I always have good intentions to get some writing in. And I never do, so even that might work. But no reading – we’re supposed to take time off and do what? Watch TV all day, stare at our phones all day texting all the important things that people must text about every minute of every day. Or maybe cure cancer in our free time – yeah maybe. But my chemistry set is notoriously out of date.

I do get asked to do a lot of blurbs and reviews, so much so that I often don’t have time to read for pleasure so I’ve had to put a moratorium on blurbing. So I’d be happy to get a break from that.

The solution is a compromise: Yes, a break or hiatus. A cruise, but not on a cruise ship. That is my idea of H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEY-STICKS: HELL! HELL! HELL ON EARTH! HELL ON THE HIGH SEAS. And, while the food might be good, the idea of being stacked like pancakes or in a multi-layered ant-hill of drunken partying fools would make me want to jump overboard or walk the plank, be hanged—hung?—strung from the yardarm. If I go to sea—and I have been—to enjoy the ocean and peacefulness a cruise ship is not peaceful. It’s like Las Vegas but where you need a Dramamine fix every few hours, not from the rolling waves but from the rolling drunks.

I don’t think today’s cruise ships are the epitome of sedate, luxurious travel like we might see in the old movies on Turner Classics. People have changed. These days they see a cruise ship as the perfect place to get rid of that extraneous wife or superfluous husband. So they might be a good place for an Agatha Christie type story, Death on the Nile or Murder on the Disney Cruise Express.

Many freighters or cargo ships carry passengers, but usually a limited number. As an old salt, I love the sea. I’d bring a laptop and tablet, lots of books and movies. And Amy and the dogs. Now I know in reality you’re not allowed to bring dogs unless you ship them as cargo, but since this is my fantasy I can do whatever I want – and damn it, the dogs are coming!

How long would I take? Forever, as long as I had satellite internet to send my stories out, ’cause I’d cheat and get some writing in after all.  -----  What about you? Hiatus or no hiatus? And what would you do?

***

And now for the usual BSP:

Check out my recent interview with Terri Lynn Coop on The Blue Plate Special on Authors on the Air Radio:  http://tobtr.com/s/10821245

~.~.~

Broken Windows is coming (September, 2018) from Down & Out Books! And you might be able to get an Advanced Reader’s Copy at Net Galley. It’s FREE, you just have to agree to their terms and agree to give a fair and honest review. Their terms are not onerous. But there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to get a copy.

Broken Windows is the sequel to my Shamus Award-Winning novel White Heat, which Publishers Weekly calls a “…taut crime yarn.” It picks up where WH leaves off: A woman jumps to her death from the Hollywood Sign. A disbarred lawyer places an ad saying “Will do anything for money.” A day laborer is murdered. And Duke and Jack, the P.I.’s from White Heat, have to figure out how it all ties together. – In a nutshell.

https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/139610

~.~.~

Please join me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/paul.d.marks and check out my website www.PaulDMarks.com

Click here to: Subscribe to my Newsletter

Danger, Will Robinson....by Cathy Ace

Scientists have invented a robot that can do your writing for you. You give it the basic plot and characters and it does the rest. Would you use it? Why or why not?

Okay – so this is going to be a short one from me today, because my answer is simple...but read on, because there's some NEWS at the end of this blog you won't want to miss...

“No, thank you. I’m delighted you think you’ve invented a robot you believe can breathe life into the most basic elements of storytelling, but I have a question for you, ‘What have you been reading to even think this might be possible?’” 

I mean, seriously? Take the plot and characters of each Shakespeare comedy or tragedy and you have a ‘blueprint’ – give them to the Master, and you have wondrous works that speak to us today as they spoke to those who first saw them performed almost 500 years ago. That’s the human touch. 

Take the plots and characters of Agatha Christie’s works and give them to a thing and see what you get…a type of pastiche, lacking the human touch. Same goes for the works of any author. 

The human touch is what sets apart the basics of plot and character. The style of the author, their individual voice, beyond those of their characters. 

No. Nope. Not for me. Thank you. 

But if you could invent something that could do all my chores and errands for me, so there's more writing time available, I'd take it in a heartbeat! 

Cathy Ace is the Bony Blithe Award-winning author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries.  You can find out more about Cathy, her work and her characters at her website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter with news, updates and special offers: http://cathyace.com/

Available NOW for pre-order...coming December 11th...find out how Cait Morgan met Bud Anderson, how the WISE Women set up in business together...and more. 8 novellas, 4 short stories...a ton of murderous fun!Click here to connect!